NIA’s SP Sanjukta Parasor and her team today submitted a chargesheet of about 4000 pages to the Mumbai special NIA court against controversial preacher Zakir Naik.
NIA’s SP Sanjukta Parasor and her team today submitted a chargesheet of about 4000 pages to the Mumbai special NIA court against controversial preacher Zakir Naik.
The team took the permission of judge V P Avhad to start the process of filing the chargesheet. All the pages of the chargesheet will be verified by the court after which it will be numbered and filed. This process will take some time and NIA officials will be back in court on Friday to complete the process. It is this very court which had declared Naik an absconder a few months ago.
The IPC sections under which the self-styled televangelist are – 153A, which is slapped against a person for promoting enmity between different groups of people on grounds of religion, race, language etc and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony; Section 120-B is for criminal conspiracy; 295-A for deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs; and Sections 505(2) that refers to statement creating, promoting enmity hatred, ill will between classes.
A section of unlawful activities prevention act (UAPA) refers to penalty for being a member of an unlawful association. NIA has also put in an application in court requesting the court to take possession of all the articles that it will be relying on. However, Naik’s lawyer Ameen Solkar opposed it saying the procedure mandates that the articles should be submitted in court only after charges are framed against an accused and a list of witnesses and articles is drawn on which the prosecution will be replying to prosecute the accused.
The NIA officers said that they have gone through many footages of Zakir Naik speech and have found many instances of his vitriolic speeches which have been added to the chargesheet along with statements of many people who were associated with him.
Prior to NIA, Enforcement Directorate has already filed chargesheet against Naik’s aide Aamir Guzar in which Naik was shown as wanted accused. There are a number of FIRs registered against Naik across the country, however, nothing has happened in them as the proceedings have been stayed by Supreme Court.
“Most of the sections that are in the chargesheet were also there in the FIRs registered against him. This chargesheet has a UAPA section. We will decide the future course of action in the case after reading the chargesheet,” said Naik’s other lawyer Munim Solkar.
These particular chargsheets are likely to help the central agencies in getting a red corner notice issued through Interpol for Naik who has done the vanishing act and has not returned to India since ministry of home affairs ordered investigation.
A terror attack in Bangladesh and a terrorists social network profile which declared that he was influenced by Naik had prompted Bangladesh to request Indian government to look into Naik’s speeches and his donations and if they had a terror link.
Source : indiatoday.in